Every book on supervision, it seems, opens with a statement like, “Very little research has been done on supervision.” Augustine Meier says this several times in his introduction to PRACTICAL CLINICAL SUPERVISION FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS. In his case, however, such statements might be true, as his book is no Good to Great knockoff or other bit of B-school fluff. “Supervision,” to Meier, means something specific: overseeing and guiding counselors-in-training.
Meier’s book does two things. First, it summarizes the current research and professional literature on supervision. Second, it delves into something called the Process Model of Clinical Supervision, which Meier first encountered at a conference in London early in his career. Developed by Peter Hawkins and Robin Shohet, the model views clinical supervision from three perspectives. In the first perspective, the focus is on the client–understanding his/her concerns and problems and planning a course of treatment. The second perspective focuses on the development of the client-therapist relationship, while the third focuses on the supervisee and supervisor relationship and addresses issues that may arise such as parallel processing (a person’s ability to deal with multiple stimuli simultaneously). The best part of the book is its transcripts of supervision sessions, which readers can study to develop their own models.
This book is an academic text, and academics will find it a valuable contribution to the field. Laypersons may not be interested because of the book’s reliance on the hallmarks of scholarly writing, which includes lots of passive voice. Lots of citations. A dispassionate tone. Sentences like “The Process Model comprises these three foci.” Any layperson who does give it a try, however, will be rewarded. Meier has an engaging style, and the way he explains concepts reflects his commitment to teaching. To those willing to put in a little intellectual work, the book offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the training of therapists might be made better. In light of America’s mental health crisis, few topics feel more urgent.
Augustine Meier’s PRACTICAL CLINICAL SUPERVISION FOR PSYCHOTHERAPISTS is a well-researched, well-argued study of a subject that will only grow in importance.
~Anthony Aycock for IndieReader